MMPR vs the Transformers
by Swindle
Summary: Swindle sells a Decepticon weapon to Rita Repulsa. Now not only do the Power Rangers have to fight a monster armed with this powerful weapon, but the Decepticons as well.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I am not Hasbro. I am not Disney. I am not Saban. Therefore, I do not own Transformers. I do not own Power Rangers.

Author's notes: This story spawned by a discussion on a message board. Who would win if the Transformers fought the Power Rangers? So...I wrote this.

I've created a world where both PR and TF exist in one universe. So this will be slightly AU for both in order to fit the story. However I have done my best to stay loyal to the continuity of both fandoms for the universe I have created.

For Transformers this take place after Season 2, before the movie. For Power Rangers, this takes place before The Green Candle arc.

Prologue

A yellow military jeep bounced along the uneven terrain of the desert, a long black box bouncing in it's back seat along with it. Many miles of civilization had been put behind the jeep. It's destination: The middle of nowhere. The absence of people made it much easier for the jeep to travel. This way there was nobody wondering why the vehicle had no driver. The vehicle had no driver of course, because it was a sentient transforming robot who was on his way to meet with a potential business partner. The agreed upon coordinates were just over the next sand dune. He only hoped that he could traverse this small distance without overturning...again.

He managed the last dune masterfully in his opinion, putting himself in park next to a large purple train.

"About time you got here, Swindle." His companion muttered as if he had been parked for an hour. Swindle was only five minutes late. Sarcastic remarks came to mind, but he held them back. After all, bickering was no way to begin a business proposition.

"Sorry, just got a little held up at the base is all." Swindle apologized and transformed. Astrotrain followed suit, crossing his arms when he had them available.

"Well, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Astrotrain wanted to find out quickly if he had wasted his time in coming here. One never could tell with Swindle. He could be entering into a deal that would supply him with energon for months...or into a deal that would leave him looking down the end of Megatron's fusion cannon.

"It's nothing big really. I just...need a ride." Swindle smiled. A smile that he thought would convey something to the effect of 'Trust me. It really is as simple as it sounds.'

"A ride?" Astrotrain was confused. "Where?"

"The moon."

"The moon? What's up there that you would possibly want?"

"Clients...potentially anyway. If the deal goes down, it could make me a very rich Decepticon. And you would get a considerable cut for your trouble. If I don't make the deal, you still get paid just for the effort.

There was a moment of silence as Astrotrain considered the situation. He strained for a moment to remember if there was anything on the moon that would catch Swindle's interest. He remembered on occasion seeing a palace there, and remembered that a couple of fleshlings were supposed to be trying to conquer the planet or something. The details were vague in his mind, and not at all important. Lately Megatron's attentions had been held more by Cybertron than by Earth, so no mind was paid to the invaders as long as he was able to collect the energon he needed.

"Why didn't you ask Blast-Off?" Astrotrain was beginning to feel uneasy and considered backing out right then. Only the money kept him talking any longer.

"I did, but he was busy. Onslaught had a mission for him." Swindle assured smoothly. In reality, he had indeed approached his fellow Combaticon with the prospect...or at least he had tried. However Blast-Off had informed him that he 'didn't want any part of Swindle's dirty business dealings' before Swindle even had the chance to explain.

After being scorned by his teammate, Swindle had been worried that he might miss out on the biggest business deal since coming to Earth simply because he couldn't get a ride. Then he realized that he wasn't completely out of luck. Blast-Off wasn't the only space faring Decepticon with room enough to transport him after all.

"What's the cargo?" Astrotrain decided he would see what information he could obtain, then use his best judgment. "I refuse to go anywhere unless I know what you're having me transport up there."

"Uh...How about double your payment?"

It was then that his better judgment told him to tell Swindle to slag off...maybe even go to Megatron and let him know that the Combaticon was up to something... Alas it was also that moment that his better judgment was just paid off and told to be quiet.

"Fine." Astrotrain agreed. "Climb aboard."

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Friday afternoon brought a large crowd of patrons to Ernie's juice bar, all wanting to celebrate the end of the school week. Plans for the weekend, assignments for school, what movies had already been seen, current events and many other topics of conversation filled the establishment, giving it a relaxed and fun atmosphere. When five teens entered the juice bar they hovered in the doorway to scan the room, momentarily concerned that there would be no place left to sit. Kimberly soon brightened, spotting no less than seven open chairs at the bar itself.

They chatted happily among themselves for a moment. Ernie was busy trying to keep up with the orders of so many people that they knew it would be a moment before they were attended to. They settled in for the wait without concern, Jason discussing his writing assignment with the others, looking for topic ideas. Ernie had been running the juice bar for far too long to be cowed by a Friday afternoon rush however, and was in front of the group with a warm greeting and wanting to know what they wanted long before they had expected him.

"So guys, what'll it be?" He asked, leaning across the bar to hear them better over the noise of the room.

"Strawberry-banana smoothie for me." Kim decided without hesitation.

"Mango." Trini said.

"Mm, I think..."

"Hey, how about some service over here?" Jason looked to see who had cut him off and found the remaining two seats occupied by Bulk and Skull. Bulk slammed his open palm against the table twice to hold Ernie's attention.

"Come on guys, wait your turn." Ernie chided, shaking his head at their behavior before finishing the group's order.

"Can you believe that?" Bulk complained, shaking his head in disbelief at Ernie's behavior.

"Yeah, really." Skull agreed in a distracted tone.

"I mean we're paying customers here, aren't we?" Bulk continued his complaints as Ernie left to start the smoothies.

"Yup." Skull agreed.

"We deserve more respect than that."

"Yup."

"What makes them so special anyway?" Bulk wanted to know. "I mean what are we, just a couple of losers over here?"

"Yup."

Bulk nodded in a self important way as he imparted his observations, before realizing exactly what his friend's response had been. He glanced back to see Skull's attention held by the small TV sitting on the counter.

"What are you watching?" He asked, irritated that Skull hadn't been paying attention.

"The news."

Bulk watched the news report for a moment, wanting to see what was so enthralling. Reaching across the table, he turned the volume up to see if that would give him a clue.

"...of the alien attack today. Fortunately the Autobots arrived on the scene before anyone was hurt, driving the Decepticons back and saving the experimental new fuel. The mayor officially congratulated those Autobots involved..."

Bulk turned the volume back to it's previous level, his attention lost. He had hoped for a report about their local heroes, the Power Rangers.

"Autobots, huh?" Ernie was leaning against the bar, his attention momentarily held by the report. It was a world news segment, the attack having occurred on the other side of the country.

"Someone should really do something about those Transformers." Bulk offered his opinions up once more.

"Yeah. Someone like the Power Rangers." Skull added. "Send'em back to cyber-metal planet or whatever."

"You all were too young to remember the worst of it." Ernie said, distributing the smoothies he had returned with. "This is the first report of an attack I've seen in a long time. Normally when they're on the news now days it's playing guard duty, a couple of science developments, nothing big anymore. I swear, next time their on TV, it'll be Optimus Prime at a supermarket opening."

As Jason listened to the exchange he recalled a conversation he'd had with Zordon a few months ago. The Transformers had been around since 1984. The events of the war that these giant alien robots had brought to Earth was covered in history class. The Decepticons had appeared out of nowhere, striking out against various locations around the Earth in an attempt to steal energy that they would convert into energon. The Autobots rose to humanity's defense immediately, proving that they were willing to risk their lives in order to protect humanity. The war between them raged for several years until it had seemed that the Autobots had succeeded in driving the Decepticons away from Earth. Attacks were rare and, as far as the news reported, all quickly quelled by the Autobots. The Autobots were welcome friends of Earth's now, always ready to defend against Decepticon attack, or just lend a helping hand where they could.

Jason had talked to Zordon about the Power Rangers joining the fight to drive the Decepticons off the planet. Zordon however had advised against it. As long as the Autobots had the problem in hand, he said that there was no reason for the Power Rangers to interfere. Jason had pressed him then. It was their planet after all, and he felt it was his duty to defend it against the Decepticons just as much as it was against Rita. Finally Zordon had admitted that his concern for the Rangers was at the core of his reasoning. They already had to fight a war for Earth on one front. He was afraid that if they dedicated themselves to this as well, that there would be no life for the Rangers outside of battle. In the end Jason saw that he was right.

By the time Jason turned his thoughts back to the present the topic of conversation had changed, and his Friday was undisturbed by either monster attacks or troubled thoughts.

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Chapter 1

The Rangers walking to the juice bar. The Rangers at the juice bar.

Rita Repulsa paced her throne room, racking her brain for some new plan that would get rid of her enemies. She checked her spyglass again, keeping tabs on their activities and whereabouts.

The Rangers leaving the juice bar. Rangers heading to the park. Rangers at the park.

Normally watching them gave her ideas. Taking events from the Ranger's everyday lives and creating nightmarish monsters relating to them was something that she found extremely satisfying. By using this tactic she hoped to create a sense of unease among the teens. It would always be lurking in the back of their mind that perhaps a time of peace or celebration could be warped and twisted into something deadly at Rita's whim.

Rangers leaving the park. Some of the Rangers parting ways. Some walking home together.

Today following their routine produced no insight on something to twist to her uses. Nor had she been able to think of any original plans for a few days. So many of her attempts had ended in failure that it was starting to wear down her confidence. Simply put, she was stressed out and it was giving her a headache.

She checked her spyglass a final time, although not really expecting much to come of it. The Rangers who had lingered to spend more time together were now exchanging their farewells and heading home. The sun was disappearing behind the horizon in their part of the planet, leaving the day to a peaceful end. She shook her head and was about to abandon the telescope for the night when she caught sight of something from the edge of the scope's view. She swung it around to get a better look and saw a large spacecraft heading towards the palace. She stayed with it a moment longer, confirming it's destination before heading across the room.

"Goldar!" Her general answered her summons quickly, awaiting his orders. "A ship is about to land just outside the palace. Go out there. See who they are and what they want."

"At once Empress."

Goldar made his way outside just as the craft touched down on the moon's surface. It was large enough to carry hundreds of soldiers. Enough to overrun the moon palace with ease. The thought of that hopeless scenario sent a wave of fear through him. Fear that no one would ever have the satisfaction of seeing, even if the enemy poured out of the ship with blood lust in their eyes and weapons in their hands. The door opened and a single large figure emerged. It was certainty not what Goldar had expected. A yellow robot...a Transformer if he was not mistaken exited the craft and started towards him. As it neared, Goldar's suspicion was confirmed when he spotted the Decepticon faction symbol on the robot's frame. The ship's door closed and the Transformer started towards him, alone. Or perhaps it only seemed that way. He was not about to take that fact for granted, knowing that these creatures were masters of Deception, able to change their forms. Even if there was no one else aboard the ship, he suspected the ship itself had the ability to shift it's form and offer aid to it's comrade. The Decepticon's hand rose in a wave as he neared, a friendly smile on his face. In one hand he carried a long black box.

"What business have you here, Cybertronion?" He demanded, drawing his weapon to halt the robot.

"Business indeed." The robot responded brightly, holding up his black box. "I'm here for a business deal. I've got a couple of weapons in here that I think you're Empress will find very interesting."

Most definitely not what he had suspected. Goldar found himself immediately distrustful of the Decepticon salesman. Still, he couldn't turn him away. That would be for Rita to decide. He hesitated a moment, deciding on the best course of action.

"Come on then." Goldar said, pointing towards the Palace with his sword. If this was some kind of rouse, he was confident that he could defeat the robot if it came to that. He kept a close watch on his guest as they made their way to the throne room, stopping him before they entered. He went in first, putting himself between the robot and Rita, planning to stand guard during their exchange.

"Well?" Rita asked, impatiently, glancing towards their visitor. "Who is it?"

"A Cybertronion my queen. A Decepticon who says he has brought a weapon to sell you."

"A weapon, huh?" This time Rita addressed the newcomer. He stepped forward, lifting the box that contained his wares for her to see.

"Yup. My name's Swindle. I have here a weapon I think you will find very useful."

"What's it do?" Rita asked. She seemed irritated at his presence, determined to reject his offer quickly and send him away.

"Well, I hear that you've got a problem with some kind of heroes on Earth. Heroes who pilot giant robots, right?" He continued his sales pitch without waiting for a response. He had researched the client enough to know that he was right. "Well, this weapon is designed to stop any kind of machine in it's tracks. All it'll take is one zap with this weapon, and their robots will be put out of commission."

"Oh?" Rita's interest was perked. "Let me see."

"Null rays." He explained, opening the black box to reveal two long rays nestled in protective foam for transport.

"Exactly how long will the Zords be offline once we hit them with these?"

"Well, it varies from machine to machine...but I'd imagine that once hit, the combined form of the robot will be offline for at least a couple of hours."

Rita grinned, looking down at the weapons greedily. There was definite potential to be had here.

"This is a one of a kind offer too." Swindle explained. "I won't be able to acquire any more to sell after these. They were developed by a scientist in our army who keeps these weapons for himself. I was lucky to cut a deal on those two at all."

"How do we know that they even work?" Goldar was unable to keep himself quiet any longer. This sounded like a scam if he ever heard one.

"You have my word." Swindle promised.

Rita glared up at him. "You think I"m going to buy these without a demonstration?" She asked, insulted.

"Of course not!" Swindle said, smiling. "I wouldn't dream of it. In fact, I insist on a demonstration. What do you have around here that we can use to test it on?" Glancing around, Swindle didn't see much available. The room seemed devoid of machinery.

The only piece of machinery that Rita could easily think of was Finster's monster maker. The palace was sustained by magic rather than technology. The few mechanical instruments they had, she wasn't about to offer up as a test subject in case the rays were faulty.

"Why don't you let us test them on you?" Goldar growled.

"An excellent idea." Rita agreed.

"Uh...well..." Swindle took the box and closed it, thinking silently for a moment before his confident smile returned. "Well that's...not going to be necessary. I brought along a test subject for the rays for just such an occurrence."

Swindle led the two outside, taking out one of the null rays as they went. He hid it behind his back then walked up to the spaceship, waving.

"Astrotrain! I need you to transform." The spaceship shifted and transformed, revealing a Decepticon who stood several heads taller than Swindle.

"What's going on?" He wanted to know.

"Demonstration of the merchandise." Swindle said quickly. Before he reached the end of his sentence he had pulled the nullray from it's hiding spot and fired. Astrotrain had no time to dodge the unexpected blast. It hit him square in the chest and he fell, the ground rumbling slightly with the impact.

"There, works perfectly." Swindle said, smiling at his clients.

"You've got yourself a deal." Rita said, impressed. "How much?"

"For these powerful, one of a kind weapons? I'd say...five hundred energon cubes worth. A special deal, just for you."

"Five hundred energon cubes!" The amount of energy needed to create a single cube was enough to sustain the palace for days. "Make it two hundred."

"I do have other buyers interested you know." Swindle said, putting the null ray back in it's case. "Buyers who I might be able to talk up to seven hundred cubes at least. I just thought that I'd bring the offer to you first."

"Fine, five hundred." Rita conceded unhappily. It was a terribly steep price, but she wasn't about to let those weapons slip away.

"Great. You won't regret it."

"For your sake, you'd better hope not." Rita grumbled, snatching the box from Swindle. She grunted slightly under it's weight and quickly passed it to Goldar. Then she pointed her wand at the Decepticons. In a flash of lightning her magic enveloped them and they disappeared.

Rita turned back towards the castle, Goldar struggled with the large box as he followed her. She made her way to Finster's workshop.

"Finster!" He put down his current project and turned to face Rita when she entered.

"Yes, my Queen?"

"I need a monster to wield those." She pointed to the box as Goldar dropped it to the floor of his workshop, glad to be rid of it's burden. Finster opened the box, examining the rays for a moment, his mind's eye starting to construct a warrior.

"At once my queen. I shall have something ready for you by tomorrow."

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For a moment, Swindle was disoriented. One moment he was on the moon, the next he was back in the desert. He remembered Rita's wand and realized that she must have teleported him back here. Handy little trick. Piles of energon lay around him, as well as an unconscious Astrotrain.

He contemplated a moment how to handle his situation. It wouldn't be possible to transport so much energon by himself. So he could either wait for Astrotrain to wake and take advantage of his cargo room...and hope that Astrotrain didn't blast him...or he could contact someone else.

The second option seemed much better. He hailed the Combaticon base, hoping that Onslaught wasn't the one to answer. Luck was with him. Vortex answered his hail.

"Hey, Vortex. I need a lift. Come out to my coordinates, quick. And bring something to transport a large load of energon."

"Load of energon?"

"Yeah, hurry." Swindle cut the transmission before any questions could be asked and waited for his ride, hoping that Astrotrain didn't wake before Vortex arrived. He spent his time counting the cubes, confirming that there were indeed five hundred total. When Vortex arrived, a large cargo transport unit attached to his helicopter mode he loaded the energon as quickly as possible before considering how to handle Astrotrain.

He supposed that he should pay him more for blasting him. On the other hand...Astrotrain had been unconscious when he had completed the deal, meaning that the triple changer had no way to know if Swindle was successful or not. Which meant that he had no way to know just how much Swindle had been paid. Not only that, Swindle reasoned with himself, but he had only had to transport Swindle there...not back. So, he concluded that it would be perfectly fair to leave Astrotrain only half of the price agreed upon, running under the assumption that Swindle had not sold the weapons.

So he ended up leaving a few cubes for his business partner, and left before he had a chance to wake up, feeling quite satisfied with how his trip had ended.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful for the city of Angel Grove. Jason woke to bird song and sunlight filtering through his curtains. He lay there a moment, enjoying the simple peace brought about by the coming of a new day. This is the kind of thing he was fighting to preserve. The ability to wake up and enjoy the serenity of the morning, knowing that he was free. Free from everything but school work that was.

His moment of reflection was broken by the reminder that his writing assignment sat in it's earliest stages on his desk. It was going to eat away at any free time he would have had that weekend. The assignment was to pick a current event and write about the effects the event might have on the city, no matter how insignificant it may seem. He and his friends had brainstormed at the juice bar yesterday, creating a list that ranged from the rumors of war overseas, to a political scandal concerning a city official in Angel Grove.

He remembered that when he had parted ways with Zack last night, they had made plans to meet later and play basketball. When he had made those plans, he had hoped to accomplish more on his assignment the night before. As it was, all he had done was narrow down his topic list. He gave Zack a call, hoping that he wasn't waking him. Zack answered after three rings sounding, much to Jason's relief, wide awake.

"Hey man." Zack greeted. 

"Hey, I got some bad news. I won't be able to make it out today. I got too much homework to do."

"That writing assignment?" Zack guessed.

"Yeah, I didn't get...well anything done on it really."

"No problem." Zack said, understanding. "Call me if you wanna meet up later today."

"Definitely." Jason agreed. "Catch you later."

"Later." 

Jason glanced over at the assignment on the desk and decided to leave it alone at least until after breakfast. 

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"Finster!" Rita winced at the sound of her own voice. To say that she felt weak would have been an understatement. Her head pounded, her body refused to respond properly when she told it to move. It was a wonder that she had been motivated enough to drag herself from bed at all that morning. Summoning the power to create five hundred energon cubes had left her in a terrible state.

Finster hurried into the room, handing her a drink he had concocted from various herbs, magics and medicenes designed to restore her strength. She drank it down quickly, relieved that some of those herbs had been added to mask what would have otherwise been a horrible taste.

"Well, how's the monster coming?" Rita asked as she handed the glass back.

"Ready to be brought to life." Finster said, quite pleased with himself. He had begun with a model that he'd started months before. Halfway through the project he had lost any interest in completing it and had moved on to other designs. When considering his latest challenge last night he remembered the half finished creature and pulled it from storage, working through the night to have it ready by morning.

He held the model up for Rita's inspection. It was a large bull like creature with great horns jutting from either side of it's head, a ring pierced it's nose, and fangs protruded from it's lower jaw. The body was small, seeming almost incapable of supporting it's weight. It's hands were human while it's feet were hoofs.

"I call him Bullzeye. Strong and stubborn, and an expert shot. He has two laser guns for combat, and will have no trouble using the null rays when the time comes."

"Good." Rita closed her eyes. "Go ready him."

"Right away, my queen." Finster obeyed, eager to see his newest creation brought to life.

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Starscream was not having a good day. He had just finished reporting his latest failed attempt to capture a new super fuel from the humans. For nearly half an hour he had endured Megatron's yelling and screaming and threatening all kinds of violence towards the Air Commander when next he saw him. Starscream had hoped to put a lot of time and perhaps a victory or two between such a meeting. Five minutes after the transmission ended Starscream remembered that was probably going to be impossible. He was supposed to go to Cybertron later that day.

A lot of equipment was being transferred from the Earth base back to Cybertron this past month. The more secure or sensitive the equipment, the higher the rank required to over see the transport. The Constructicons had spent the week gutting the undersea base's computer systems, readying them for transport to Cybertron. Starscream could only hope that Megatron would forget he was supposed to accompany the main computer system today. He spent the next hour with dread mounting in his systems as he made sure that everything was on schedule in the base, then taking the computer system to the space bridge. Then the dread compounded ten fold as he took the space bridge to Cybertron.

Starscream was met with an unusual sight when he stepped into the command center. Acquiring energon from Earth as well as various other planets, Megatron had finally collected enough to restore Cybertron to something of it's former glory. That done, the next step had been to establish their primary base of operations on their home planet again. Forces from abroad had been recalled and the core of their operation was being relocated from Earth. So the command center that for many years had been the quiet domain of Shockwave was now a bustle of activity. Starscream had to dodge past two of the three coneheads, step around a few cassettes and even press himself against a wall to avoid getting shoved aside by a couple of Stunticons. By the time he made it across the room and found Shockwave, his mood had soured even further.

The process of transferring everything from Earth to Cybertron should have been a chaotic nightmare. However Shockwave had been given full command of the operation, which meant everything was running in an organized fashion. Currently he was filing reports from three different transfers, making sure that all the equipment, down to the last screw was accounted for.

"The computer's over there." Starscream said, tossing his report onto the tabletop. "Hurry up and sign off on it so I can go."

Shockwave picked up the data file and tapped a finger against it, imprinting his energy signature. "First you need to make sure that all of your equipment is accounted for."

"I don't have time for that."

"It is required." Shockwave informed him, filing Starscream's report away, then handing another one to him.

Starscream started away, referring to the data pad to see where his belongings had been left. Everything was in storage bay three. According to the procedure checklist on the data pad, Shockwave expected him to make sure that everything was accounted for then arrange for it all to be transported to where it belonged. That was guaranteed to take up several hours. Several hours in which he might encounter Megatron. Instead he decided to simply make certain that everything was accounted for and be gone. That he could accomplish in under an hour.

He ran through the list quickly, then regretted his haste when he came up short by a few items. He ran through the checklist again, taking the time to make sure it was done right this time...and came up short.

"This can't be right." Starscream muttered to himself, going through a third inspection of the equipment. He was certain that everything had been here on the trip up. When his third attempt yielded the same results, he scrolled through the data pad to see who had been in charge of unloading these peticular items.

Combaticons. He was missing weaponry and Swindle had been involved in unloading the boxes. The expression 'things go from bad to worse' was the perfect way to describe his day thus far. He left the storage bay to find Shockwave again, thrusting the data pad towards him when he did.

"Finished?" 

"Not yet. I just needed to confirm that this information was correct. The Combaticons were responsible for this load of equipment?"

"Correct." Shockwave confirmed without even looking at the data pad. "My records are flawless."

"What idiot decided to put Swindle anywhere near this equipment? " Starscream raged.

"Something is missing then." It was not a question. Shockwave knew that was the only logical explanation for Starscream's behavior.

"No, of course not." Starscream said quickly. "But it could be. And Megatron would hold me responsible if it was."

"Illogical. Onslaught was the one in charge of that equipment. Anything missing would fall to him. It would also be illogical to leave Swindle alone with any of the equipment being transferred. Onslaught is a capable commander and quite aware of his comrade's behavior."

"Capable my afterburner..." Starscream muttered to himself and headed back to storage bay three, abruptly ending the conversation. He paced for a time, wondering what he should do. With the mood Megatron was in when he last spoke to him, Starscream would be held responsible for this incident for certain. So, the only thing to do was to get the equipment back before Megatron found out.

As he paced and pondered, he realized that Shockwave was perhaps right. No one in their right mind would leave Swindle in a position where he could get his hands on any of the equipment. Onslaught wouldn't have been so stupid. But what other explanation could there be? He scrolled through the information on the data pad, hoping that he would find some clue in the meticulously kept records. Discovering that another load of equipment had been taken to storage bay three at around the same time, Starscream decided to start an investigation. If Swindle had stolen his weapons, then it was possible that he sold them off as quickly as he could to avoid being caught with them. So if he was lucky he could find the buyer here on Cybertron. And if the weapons were missing for some other reason, he should be able to uncover exactly what had become of them.

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"Ai yi yi yi yi!"

"What's wrong Alpha?" Zordon asked, seeing his companion worry over the viewing globe.

"Theres a monster attacking Angel Grove!" Alpha 5 informed him. "Some kind of bull creature."

"Summon the Power Rangers at once."

"Right away, Zordon."

As Alpha went about his task, Zordon took the time to find out what he could about the monster. It was a new creation, or at least something that was not in his data files about Rita Repulsa's past creatures. The only thing the computer could tell him is that the monster was strong, but such an observation could have been made by simply looking at the thing. The guns at it's sides were an unusual addition that Zordon took note of. When the Rangers arrived, Zordon dismayed that he had little information to arm them with.

"Rangers, Rita has summoned forth a new monster. I cannot tell you much, except to be wary of it's strength and the weapons it carries. Go, and may the power protect you."

"Don't worry Zordon." Jason assured him confidently. "We can handle that thing. It's morphin' time! Tyrannosaurus!"

The other rangers followed their leader's battle cry with their own, donning their Power Ranger identies and teleporting into battle.

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'In the event of a monster attack, citizens are to stay in their homes, lock their doors and stay away from doors and windows. If caught outside during an attack, citizens are to head to the nearest safety bunker (the bunker locations are broadcast on the news each night, and run as special emergency scrolls at various times throughout the week.) Citizens are then to stay where they are until it is announced that it is safe to venture outside again.'

These safety procedures were adopted by the city of Angel Grove several months ago when their town became the target of alien attack. So, by the time the Power Rangers appeared in downtown Angel Grove the streets were bare. The monster was left to take his rage out on various business establishments in the downtown area rather than innocent people. The Rangers arrived to see the monster throw a chair through the window of a sandwich shop, then kick over the table the chair had accompanied.

"Aaah, Rangers!" The monster sounded pleased. "Bout time ya'll showed up! I'm Bullzeye, your destroyer!"

"I don't think so!" Black Ranger countered. "We're here to put an end to your rampaging!"

"That so?" Bullzeye scoffed. "Let's see how you handle these guys before ya'll even consider tanglin' with me!" As he spoke at least a dozen putties appeared around him. They ran towards the Rangers, each knowing only one purpose...to destroy.

Red Ranger ducked a fist aimed at his jaw, spun in a half circle to block a kick from a putty on his far left then lowered himself, performing a sweeping kick that knocked both putties off of their feet. Bouncing up, he turned and rammed an elbow into the neck of a putty who tried to catch him from behind.

Green Ranger leapt into the air, avoiding a low kick and executing one of his own at the same time. His foot hit the puttie's jaw and knocked it off it's feet onto it's back. It flopped for a moment before leaping back into the battle. Three more putties had joined the fight against Green Ranger now. The puttie's brains were too primitive to form any real strategy, so it was pure coincidence when they managed to surround him. They did recognize the opportunity they had created for themselves however, and all tried to rush him at the same time. Green Ranger waited, timing their attacks. At the exact moment when the four putties would have struck, he leapt into the air and back flipped over his opponents. The putties continued their rush, unaware that their target had escaped until their attacks connected with one another and they all fell into a heap on the ground.

Yellow and Blue Rangers fought back to back against five putties. Yellow Ranger ducked a blow then slammed her fist into the puttie's chest. She followed the attack with a kick to it's stomach that sent it flying backwards. Blue Ranger was forced on the offensive as three putties attacked him at once. He blocked the onslaught, all the while attempting to find an opening in their attack. He spotted an opportunity as the putty on his left delivered a punch that Blue Ranger blocked, knocking the arm high and ramming his elbow into it's unprotected side. The putty stumbled slightly before Yellow Ranger took hold of it's arm and swung it in an arc until it stood facing her. She defeated it with a solid punch to the face. The Blue Ranger was gaining the upper hand with his two remaining opponents. He attacked the one on the left. The one on the right attacked when it thought it saw an opening in Blue Ranger's defense. Blue Ranger suddenly shifted his attack, grabbing the right puttie's arm and throwing it forward. It crashed into a tree and did not get back up. The remaining putty found itself kicked away soon after.

Rather than deflect the blows aimed at him, Black Ranger made himself a difficult target by dodging around the attacks. The putties ended up chasing him in circles, unaware that they were leaving themselves vulnerable to attack. Their folly became apparent when Pink Ranger took advantage of the openings her team mate created. She flipped into a handstand and wrapped her legs around a puttie's neck then threw her body forward, sending the putty flying. Black Ranger dodged smoothly to one side to avoid an attack and spun around to position himself alongside his opponent. He kicked the puttie's feet out from under it, and followed that with another kick before the creature hit the ground. A second putty attacked the Black Ranger, launching a furious series of punches and kicks. He blocked a kick, stopping his attacker's leg with his own, then wrapped his leg around the puttie's and kicked out, driving it off it's feet.

The six Rangers stood victorious, watching as the fallen putty patrolers began to convulse and finally disappear as their bodies disintegrated into clay.

"Oooh, impressive." Bullzeye's words dripped sarcasm. "But you won't find me so easy to defeat!"

The monster's hoofs kicked at the ground, like a bull preparing to charge. The Rangers all waited for the inevitable attack. Bullzeye lowered his head and ran towards them. They dodged, leapt and rolled out of the way. Zordon's warning about the creature's strength was fresh in all their minds. Pink and Blue Rangers were the unfortunate two hit by the attack. The other Rangers could do nothing but watch as Bullzeye sent their team mates flying. There was a terrible sound of breaking glass as the two Rangers crashed through a shoe store on the opposite side of the street. The scene played out in seconds, but for the Rangers watching those they cared about bare the brunt of the attack, it seemed like so much longer. Each turned a murderous glare towards the monster as it's laughter mocked them. He turned away from the damage that had once been Shoe Time, putting himself between the Rangers and their fallen comrades.

The Rangers tensed as the monster kicked at the ground again. They clustered together as the head lowered, speaking in hushed voices. When the monster charged they evaded in separate directions. Bullzeye rammed himself into a park bench, tripped over it then sprawled out on the ground. The Rangers had fanned around him in a semi circle. Red Ranger nodded to Green Ranger. He returned the gesture then took off running towards Shoe Time.

"Confounded Power Rangers..." Bullzeye muttered to himself as he kicked the broken pieces of park bench away and got to his feet. He turned to find three Rangers with weapons aimed at him and took a step backwards, then kicked at the ground again. This time the gesture seemed more out of frustration than preparation for an attack.

"So that's how you want to play it?" Bullzeye screamed, kicking at the ground again. "Fine, I'n do that too you know!" He drew the guns from their holsters and twirled them in his hands.

"Fire."

At Red Ranger's command they all opened fire. Bullzeye returned in kind, his laser pistols letting loose an explosive force.

Meanwhile the Green Ranger stepped through the broken store front in time to see Pink and Blue Rangers picking themselves up. Pink Ranger put a hand to her helmet woozily. Blue Ranger shook glass from his sleeve.

"Are you guys alright?" Green Ranger asked.

"A little shaken up I guess." Pink Ranger replied.

"Our Ranger suits prevented us from sustaining too much damage." Blue Ranger informed.

"Good." The relief in Green Ranger's voice was evident. "If you guys feel up to it, we've got a battle to finish."

"Like that thing's gonna ram me and ruin a shoe store and get away with it." Pink Ranger proclaimed. "Let's go."

Bullzeye was proving himself an expert marksman...or marksmonster as the case may be. His laser blasts found their targets again and again. The Rangers were hitting their marks as well, but it wasn't doing them much good. The large beast simply shrugged off the attacks and continued his barrage. The Rangers would have fared better by seeking cover, but they couldn't afford to break formation until they were certain the others were safe. The plan was to keep Bullzeye trapped here so he wouldn't make a target of one of their downed comrades.

Red Ranger leapt to the side, letting loose three shots from his blaster as laser fire scorched the ground he had just occupied. He managed another two shots before he was forced to dodge aside again. Four of his five shots hit Bullzeye, but the monster barely seemed to notice. In fact the monster seemed to be having a great time judging by the way he laughed every time he pulled the trigger. After a few minutes of exchanging fire with the monster Red Ranger finally saw the others heading towards the alley where they had agreed to meet up. Relief flooded through him seeing the others unharmed.

"Alright, let's get to cover."

The team was quick to obey their leader's command, breaking off their 'V' formation and running towards the others to take refuge around the side of a strip mall.

"That bull is unbelievable." Black Ranger said.

"We can't get close to him, or he'll ram us." Yellow Ranger reasoned. "But at a distance, he's got the advantage as well."

"We'll use the Power Blaster." Red Ranger decided, calling his Power Sword into his hand. "The power of our weapons combined has got to be enough to take that thing down."

The other Rangers nodded in agreement, calling their weapons forth and uniting them. They moved into the open, standing in position behind their weapon.

"Hey, Bull!" Green Ranger called to get the monster's attention.

"What in tarnation..." Bullzeye said to himself as he saw the Ranger's weapon. He leveled his own laser pistols and his finger tightened on the trigger. This was contest of speed now. Whoever fired their weapon first would be the winner. Multi colored blasts of energy shot from the Ranger's weapon just as he squeezed the trigger on his. The energy blasts impacted with one another for a moment before Bullzeye's laser fire was overpowered. The blast from the Power Blaster hit and sent him flying backwards several feet where he landed on the pavement with a thud.

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"Oh no you don't!"

Rita had moved her spyglass near her chair in order to watch the battle. When Bullzeye fell she found the energy to leap from her seat. Her hand closed around her wand and charged it with magical energy. She tossed the wand and the magic carried it to the planet below where it impaled itself firmly into the ground.

"Get back in there and fight! Make my monster grow!"

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The ground moving under their feet filled each Ranger with a familiar sense of dread. They had seen it happen enough to know what was coming. Still the sight never ceased to amaze. The alien monster who had seemed so soundly defeated moments before was rising. First to his feet, then growing, up and up several stories high. He laughed, reveling in his new size and power.

"Looks like I'm gonna come out on top after all!" Bullzeye gloated.

The Rangers reaction was almost automatic after so many battles. Their hands stretched towards the sky and as one and they called out

"We need Dinozord power, NOW!"

From their various hiding spots the powerful fighting machines rose to answer the summons of the Power Rangers. The Rangers leapt into their zords with praticed ease, inserting their Power Crystals into the controls. The zords began to transform and combine, joining together to create the mighty Megazord. The familiar tune of Green Ranger's flute filled the air. Soon Megazord and Dragonzord stood together, ready for combat.

"You think that'll scare me?" Bullzeye laughed. Lightning flashed down from a clear sky and enveloped the monster. It glowed with brilliant intensity for a moment, then died down. It was clear that the lightning had been Rita's doing, leaving new weapons attached to her monster's arms. "I got just the thing to take care'a those toys you got there."

Warning bells went off in Blue Ranger's head. Something about these weapons bothered him. After a moment he realized what it was. If the monster had weapons powerful enough to take on the Megazord, it would have been more than enough to destroy them in a one on one battle. There was no reason to wait until now to use them...unless...

"We need to be careful." Blue Ranger warned. "Whatever those weapons are, I think that they are somehow meant to specifically target the zords."

"Right. We can't let those things hit us, even once." Bullzeye had already proven himself to be a dangerous opponent. Now there were mysterious weapons added to his arsenal. Red Ranger didn't want to take any chances. "We need the Power Sword, now!"

Megazord caught the Power Sword as it penetrated the cloud cover and descended from the sky. The Megazord started forward, raising the sword for a strike when Bullzeye fired his new weapons. The Power Sword swung into a defensive position to act as a shield against the energy from the rays. The energy deflected harmlessly off of the sword's surface. Encouraged by their success they endeavored to move forward, blocking the energy blasts with their sword. They only had a small distance to cover before they made it in striking range of the enemy. Dragonzord meanwhile began to maneuver around the monster so an attack could be mounted from both sides.

The Power Sword bit into the monster's side, penetrating it's tough hide. The attack was not as powerful as it should have been. The Ranger's need to bring the sword quickly back into a defensive position hindered it's effectiveness. Still, the blow had at least knocked the monster to the ground, momentarily winning the Power Rangers the advantage. Red Ranger knew better than to hope the powerful opponent was anything more than temporarily stunned by the blow, but even he did not anticipate the speed of the creature's recovery. Before they could complete another strike, Bullzeye fired the rays. The blast hit the Megazord dead center, causing the lights to dim then flicker once before dying. The Megazord had completely lost power.

Bullzeye picked himself up from the ground and let loose a rain fire from his lasers. The inert Megazord was rocked back and forth violently from the blasts. Inside the cockpit Blue Ranger instructed the others to do everything he could think of to try and bring their power back, to no avail.

Green Ranger played a symphony of commands to his Dragonzord, hurrying to his friend's rescue. Missiles fired from Dragonzord's fingertips. With his victory over the Megazord, Bullzeye had all but forgotten his other opponent. The missiles caught him off guard, sending him staggering backwards. Dragonzord whirled, knocking Bullzeye over with it's tail. It drove onward, stepping on the monster's right arm to prevent the use of at least one of the rays. The other he took care of with another round of missiles.

"We need to get out of here. Red Ranger decided.

"We're just going to abandon the Megazord?" Pink Ranger worried.

"We can't get the systems back online, what choice do we have?" Although Black Ranger supported Red's decision, it was obvious that he was not happy about it. The sentiment was shared by the others. They teleported from the Megazord and resigned themselves to their role as mere spectators in the battle.

The monster screamed, thrashing about on the ground as it attempted to escape Dragonzord's fury. He managed to escape being pinned but his arm was knocked violently away by Dragonzord's tail as he tried to bring his weapons around. Green Ranger fought with a righteous fury fueled by concern for his friends and his city. Another barrage of missiles hit their mark. The monster fell flat on his back, struggling with the pain of it's wounds.

"This is nuts. I'm outta here!" Bullzeye proclaimed and teleported away.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: I know that this story is tending more towards Power Rangers than Transformers at the moment, but never fear my good readers, as the story progresses the Transformers will play larger and larger roles. I had wanted to give both fandoms equal share of the spotight in all chapters, but in order to set up the plot that proved to be more difficult than I had thought..

Starscream had been certain that, short of running into Megatron, his day could not possibly have gotten any worse than it already was. When he found Dirge, alone in storage bay six, he realized that the universe was not done toying with him just yet. All three conehead seekers had been present when the Combaticons were working, and Dirge was the only one that he could find.

He debated passing him up and searching for one of the other two, but that would have been stupid. Wandering around the base would almost certainty cross his path with Megatron's. Like it or not, Dirge was his best option.

"Dirge."

"Yes?" The conehead looked up from sorting his own belongings.

"Are Thrust or Ramjet nearby?"

"Not really."

Well it had been worth a try.

"Then you'll have to answer my questions. You were part of the team unloading equipment in storage bay three two days ago, right?"

"That's right."

"And the Combaticons were unloading equipment at the same time. My equipment."

"Yeah."

"Was Swindle left alone with anything?"

"Uhhh...mighta been."

Starscream resisted a grimace. He was already in a bad mood and Dirge was not helping. The seeker seemed not to care enough about the situation to put any real effort into his answers. Then there was his voice. Each response was given in the same dismal tone as if putting together a sentence was cause enough for Dirge to fall into a horrible depression.

"What do you mean he 'might' have been?" He made no effort to hide his aggravation. Starscream's ire served at least to remind Dirge of the other seeker's rank, so he thought a moment before putting together his next response.

"Well, the Combaticons arrived after we did. They started unloading everything together, but then Onslaught was called away by Megatron for something. So he left Blast-Off in charge. Later Brawl got mad at Swindle for something." Dirge stopped, glancing up at his superior officer. He hoped that maybe this information was enough to satisfy him. Starscream's expectant glare told him that there was more he was supposed to tell. If he were human, he would have heaved a heavy sigh.

"Uhh...well. I think that Brawl and Swindle got into a fight or something. I didn't pay much attention. Swindle said something, then Brawl hit him a couple times...think he knocked him off line." Dirge relayed the information in a tone that would have been better suited for recounting a personal tragedy, perhaps the death of a close friend.

"And then?" Starscream pressed.

"Then we left." Dirge stated simply. Starscream thought he would have used that tone to tell others that Cybertron was going to blow up in a few moments and everyone on the planet was doomed to die.

"Great." Starscream muttered, leaving Dirge to finish his work.

He was convinced that Swindle was the culprit now. Without Onslaught there to instruct them otherwise, the Combaticons must have finished their task and left their unconscious comrade where he had fallen. Swindle would have awoken to a storage bay devoid of anything but himself and other people's equipment.

Perhaps this was a turn around to his bad luck today. Not only was he one step closer to locating his missing weaponry, his next step took him away from Cybertron.

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A heavy cloud of silence had fallen over the Command Center. The battle was over and the powerless Megazord had been telepoprted to a safe hiding place. Billy and Alpha were scanning the Megazord, finding out what condition it was in, and hoping that the rays left some kind of residual energy that they could work with. The other Rangers waited with trepidation for the results.

"Well, I have benignant news and unbenigant news." Billy informed. The Rangers responded with blank looks. Billy waited a beat before realizing what was wrong.

"Um...good news and bad news."

"What's the good news?" Kimberly asked.

"The effects of the rays have worn off on their own, and the Megazord has power again."

"And...the bad news?" Zack ventured to ask.

"The Megazord received extensive damage when Bullzeye blasted it. Repairs will take time."

"What were those weapons anyway?" Jason asked.

"Null rays. A Cybertronian design." Zordon answered his query after viewing the data from the completed scan.

"Cybertronian...like the Transformers?" Trini asked.

"That is correct." Zordon said.

"Guys, what are we going to do?" Kimberly worried, crossing her arms over her chest. Tommy put a hand on her shoulder sympathetically.

"Alpha and I will work on analyzing the data from the scan and see if there isn't anything we can do to block the rays." Billy said, already hard at work on the computers.

"At least we still have the Dragonzord." Tommy said.

"Yeah, but one zap with those null rays and it's offline too." Zack dismayed.

"For now, there is nothing we can do but wait, and stay on guard. I expect that it won't be long before Rita strikes again." Zordon's words drove home the terrible truth of their situation. Rita had the advantage now. If she attacked before they found a way to defend against the null rays, all would be lost.

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A festive celebration was taking place on the Moon. The battle was over and, despite Bullzeye's retreat, Rita saw no reason not to consider this a victory. Squatt and Baboo jumped at the chance to act as coordinators for the event. They supplied plenty of fine wine from the LT-68 galaxy, snacks, and they were even so bold as to put up a few modest decorations.

"To the end of the Power Rangers!" Rita held her wine glass up for a toast. Squatt, Baboo and Finster raised theirs as well before each sipped from their glass, or gulped in Squatt's case.

"Those null rays sure did the trick." Squatt said.

"That, and my Bullzeye monster." Finster added.

Rita chuckled happily and poured another glass for herself.

"Yes, soon, very soon, we will crush our enemies completely, and Earth will be under our control!"

Goldar moodily batted a cluster of streamers out of his way as he crossed the room. He felt that the celebration was premature. They should be attacking now, while the Rangers were weak and unprepared. He had suggested as much to Rita, but she dismissed the notion. She assured him that there would be time enough for all of that later. He leaned against the wall, feeling impatient. He longed to abandon the celebration and take up his sword against the Rangers.

"There's nothing wrong with relaxing a little."

Goldar shifted his gaze from the floor. Scorpina smiled at him, holding out one of the two wine glasses she carried.

"We should be attacking now." He said sullenly, accepting the drink.

Scorpina traced a finger up his armored arm and over his cheek.

"Maybe. But we're not. And moping around won't get you your way. So try and enjoy the party."

He growled softly in response and sipped his drink. Despite himself he started to act on her advice and lighten up a little. After all, they did have the upper hand. The Rangers were still a concern of course, but with the ability to put the zords out of commission, what could possibly go wrong?

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After their failed attempt to take control of Cybertron, (which had been preluded by another of Starscream's failed attempts to overthrow Megatron) loyalty had been forcefully programed into the Combaticon's systems. They may have been forced to abandon their vendetta against those who had wronged them in the past, but that did not mean they had to like it. The Combaticons established a base of operations away from the other Decepticons, in the middle of Earth's desert. It was rare for any of them to interact with the other Decepticons if not under Megatron's orders.

Today, Onslaught was grateful for their remote location for reasons beyond personal differences with the rest of the army. Specifically, the pile of energon cubes that dominated the entire western corner of the storage bay. Normally he was willing to turn a blind optic to Swindle's activities. Keeping tabs on the Combaticon entrupenuer would have been a full time job. Besides that, Swindle's dealings supplied the Combaticons with much of their energon. His efforts made it possible for them to function without being dependent on Megatron. Something like this however, could not be ignored.

"Care to explain?"

"Explain what?" Swindle responded casually. "I managed to cut a great deal."

"Swindle, what did you sell to aquire such a large amount of energon?" Onslaught demanded.

"Just some weapons." He said with a shrug. "If you find the right buyer, you can sell a basic laser pistol for the price of a fusion cannon. It's all about the sales technique."

"You didn't have this much success selling a few laser pistols."

"The trick is finding buyers that are both stupid and rich."

Onslaught glared at Swindle. Swindle responded with the same unwavering confidence that he presented to the rest of the galaxy. It was exasperating how many times Swindle forced these confrontations. He felt that he gave his solider a considerable amount of freedom with his personal operations. Swindle continued to abuse his generousity, sometimes beyond insubordination to a point of betrayal. There were more times than Onslaught could remember when Swindle's life had been spared only because he was needed as a component to Bruticus.

There was a tense moment between the two. Swindle was no doubt running through a list of possible lies, trying to find something plausable enough to convince Onslaught of his innocence. Of course it had been a long time since Swindle was able to sweet talk his commander. Onslaught knew exactly what to expect from him and how to handle it. Not to mention that every moment of silence cost him the credibility of his lie. At last, Swindle concieded defeat.

"Well, it may have been a little more sophisticated than a laser pistol." The confidence drained from Swindle's face like a deflated ballon as the conflict reached it's inevitable conclusion.

"Who was the buyer?"

"Couple of alien fleshlings."

"And what did you sell them?"

"...null rays."

The silence stole upon them again. Onslaught did not want to believe what he was hearing. If these fleshlings decided to attempt a conquest of the Cybertronions in the future, they had a valuable weapon for their cause. They could have already taken the null rays apart, figured out how they worked... Perhaps he was over reacting, but even so there was still Megatron to worry about. When he discovered what Swindle had done, it would mean the end of the Combaticons.

"Do even realize what you've done!" He raged. Swindle looked away, trying to keep the annoyance out of his expression. It certaintly would not help his position to let Onslaught see that. "You've given them a weapon to use against US!"

"Not given..." Swindle tried to speak in his defense. "I wouldn't _give _anything..." He gestured to the pile of energon cubes.

Screaming and raging was not how Onslaught dealt with problems. He forced himself to take a moment and calm down. This situation was one more thing added to the list of 'worst things Swindle had ever done'. He called in the rest of the team. They would have to find a solution together. He began pacing the length of the storage bay as the team assembled around the energon pile.

Blast-Off entered the room, followed by Brawl. Vortex had been on guard duty, so he was the last to respond. The door slid open to admit him, but he hesitated at the entrance. Onslaught was too lost in his musings to notice.

"We need to deal with this quickly. Before Megatron finds out." He muttered aloud.

"My thoughts exactly."

An unmistakable and certaintly unwelcome voice broke his train of thought. Onslaught turned his attention towards the door. Vortex finally entered the room. Following close behind was Air Commander Starscream.

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_"We need to deal with this quickly. Before Megatron finds out." _

_"My thoughts exactly."_

The Combaticons reacted to Starscream's presence with hostility, but that much was to be expected. Before long they realized the need to work together to resolve their problem. Without Megatron finding out. The scene continued to play, diplayed on the monitor. After they finished their discussion and left the room, the camera angle shifted. The monitor displayed a small opening in the roof, then moved through that into open sky. Then over the desert and behind a large sand dune. The camera circled a large blue robot before coming to a stop.

"Excellent Soundwave." The monitor displayed the Communication Officer's face, seen through Lazerbeak's eyes. "Stay with them and see what they do."

"As you command, Megatron."

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Jason, Tommy, Kimberly, Zack and Trini found themselves at the Angel Grove mall. They had lingered at the Command Center for awhile, but quickly found that there was little for them to do. Billy suggested they wait elsewhere, promising to contact them if he made any progress. Jason did not like the thought of someone else working to solve the problem while he waited around doing nothing, even if that someone was another Ranger. So he decided to use the time productively and try to devise some kind of strategy against Bullzeye. Almost everyone at the juice bar was a regular, including themselves. When you know everyone in a building to some degree or another, holding a private conversation becomes a daunting task. The mall offered a certain amount of anonymity. An environment where they could blend in with the rest of the weekend mallrats.

As it turned out, it wouldn't have mattered one way or another. The team spent their time sitting in the food court in gloomy silence. Each Ranger was lost in their thoughts, wracking their brains for some tactic to suggest. After an hour of fruitless pondering, a silent unanimous conclusion had been reached. They were stuck unless Billy provided some new information.

"Well, look at this lively bunch."

Kimberly sighed as Bulk and Skull invited themselves over to the group.

"Yeah. Lively." Skull added with an amused chuckled. "What's the matter Kimberly, don't have enough money for the new pair of shoes you wanted?"

"Guys, now is really not the time." Kim warned.

"Don't worry." Bulk reassured. "We have the answer to your problems."

"I seriously doubt that." The stress of the situation had even Zack sounding close to exasperated.

"Now now, you don't even know what it is we have to offer." Bulk said, sounding like he was starting a sales pitch. Smiling confidently and nodding, he turned to look at his friend. Skull returned the confident smile and nodded along with him. After a moment Bulk nudged Skull in the side, irritated that he had missed his cue.

"Coming from the two of you, it can't be anything good." Trini said.

Skull finally realized what Bulk wanted and undid the zipper of the long trench coat he was wearing. Reminiscent of stereotypical swindlers offering faulty knock off brand watches from a display set up inside their jacket, Skull had pens, pencils, candy and cheap toys hanging inside of his coat.

"Bulk and Skull's bargain bin." Bulk proclaimed. "Each item only fifty cents. Fifty cents cheaper than their retail value. So, can I interest you in anything?"

"How is it you can afford to sell that stuff cheaper than the store?" Trini wondered.

"Uh...well." Bulk seemed at a loss for an explanation. He looked at Skull in hopes of an inspired answer and realized that Skull was looking to him for the same thing. "We...got a discount."

"Yeah, five finger." Skull said, then burst into amused laughter.

Jason stared at the pair in disbelief. "You guys shoplifted from the dollar store?"

The rest of the table gave the two similar looks. Obviously sensing that there was no profit to be made here, Bulk stood. Skull's laughter ended abruptly when he was hauled to his feet by the collar of his coat.

"Zip it." Bulk hissed at Skull, angry that he had let the information slip. Skull seemed to miss the point of his scolding however and instead zipped up the trench coat. Bulk sighed, choosing not to comment. Instead he addressed the others. "We don't have to stay here and listen to these accusations. We'll take our business elsewhere."

Bulk and Skull started away, making it the length of almost three tables before they accidentally bumped into a couple of people coming from the other direction. The pair stumbled backwards and collided with another table. The table over turned, falling to the floor along with Bulk and Skull. Two plates of noodles and orange chicken spilled off of the table onto their heads.

Despite their situation, the Rangers could not help but laugh. Everyone who had witnessed the incident joined in. Even the two who had lost their lunch found it hilarious. Two members of mall security who were passing by came to investigate the commotion. When they spotted the two noodle covered teens at the center of the scene they made their way towards them.

Bulk muttered moodily under his breath, pulling noodles from his hair. Then he spotted the mall security coming to a halt in front of him.

"Dollar Market said that two kids shoplifted some stuff from their store." The mall cop informed them. "Two kids matching your descriptions."

"That's absurd." Bulk protested, rising carefully to avoid slipping in the mess on the floor. "We've never stolen anything in our lives."

"Right." Skull agreed, following his best friend to his feet. The items in his coat had been secured rather precariously however, and many ended up being jostled loose by the fall. When he stood, more than half of their stolen inventory rained out from under his coat to join the mess of chicken and noodles on the floor. The mall cops sighed, shaking their heads. Each took one of the teens by the arm and led them away from the food court.

There was a lingering sense of amusement at the Ranger's table as the situation resolved. It was soon dispelled by Jason's communicator. He glanced at the others before activating the device. The rest of the group huddled around to hear.

"This is Jason."

"Come back to the Command Center." Billy said, sounding pleased with himself. "I think I found the answer to our problem."

Sweeter words could not have been said at that moment. The team quickly left the food court and dodged into the nearest service corridor. Relieved to find it empty, they teleported away from the mall.

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Five multi colored streaks of light marked the arrival of the other Rangers at the Command Center. Billy barely had time to register their presence before he found himself surrounded. They crowded him, eager for good news.

"How do we defeat Bullzeye?" Zack asked.

"I..." Billy began.

"What's your plan?" Kim wondered.

"Well..." Billy tried to say.

"Are you sure it will work?" Trini asked.

"I'm not..."

"Guys." Jason managed to take a point of authority and put an end to the chaos. "Billy, what did you find out?"

"Well, Alpha and I examined the energy left by the rays." Billy said, relieved that he was able to finally explain. "We ran some simulations based on the data we gathered and were able to, in theory, construct a defense against them."

"What's that?" Trini asked.

"We should be able to use the morphing grid to shield one of the zords, thus deflecting the energy of the null rays."

The tension that had been alleviated by the hope of salvation returned with a sudden fierceness over the group. The Rangers looked at each other uneasily, not sure of what to say. The proposed solution sounded just as dangerous as the initial problem. They all knew the dangers of overloading the moprhing grid. Risking the grid meant risking the loss of their powers. Billy understood these dangers just as much, if not more than the rest of them. This meant that either he deemed this course of action safe...or that there was simply no choice but to employ such a dangerous tactic.

"Billy...are you sure?" Tommy was the one to put a voice to their apprehension.

"There is a certain risk involved." Billy admitted to the obvious. "But with the simulations we ran I don't think that we will have to divert all that much power in order to make the shield."

"Unfortunately, there is no other option." Zordon said.

Tommy nodded in reluctant acceptance. The sentiment seemed to be shared by all of the other Rangers.

"Let's hope it works as planned." Alpha said, hurrying over to the view screen. "Bullzeye's come back!"

"Tommy. The Megazord still needs to be repaired. You must fight him with the Dragonzord." Zordon hated to send one Ranger out alone, but there was no choice.

"Right." Tommy agreed. He morphed into the Green Ranger and teleported down to the city.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: Thanks to everyone's who read and reviewed my story so far. SpartanCommander thanks for the dedicated revewing of every chapter. Iniora Nackatori glad you like it so far. I hope it stays intresting enough to keep everyone...er...intrested.

Chapter 4

Green Ranger ended up atop a building on the edge of the city. Bullzeye loomed larger than life, dwarfing the surrounding buildings. Buildings that he had decided to destroy while waiting for the Rangers to arrive. There had not been time for him to decimate more than two or three, but the sight was enough to make something inside of Green Ranger clentch painfully. The monster was focused on his task with an almost child like glee, oblivious to his arrival.

"Time to take this bull by the horns." He declared, brandishing his Dragon Dagger.

"Not you again!" The battle cry caught Bullzeye's attention and he seethed at the sight of the Green Ranger, remembering his earlier defeat.

"Afraid so." Green Ranger proclaimed. He wished that he felt even half the amount of confidence feigned in his tone. The city, the lives of everyone in it, and the fate of the Ranger's powers were all in his hands. The stoic visage of his helmet was all that prevented the monster from discovering his oppponent's uncertainty.

Bullzeye was coming towards him now. The monster's footsteps shook the ground violently. His voice boomed out across the city, challenging him. Somehow the song of the Dragon Dagger sounded above it all. Pure and strong, the tune carried it's message to the powerful zord resting in the sea. Dragonzord rose, water cascading off of it's great form, roaring out a challenge of it's own.

A few commands from his dagger sent the Dragonzord into action. It charged, stopping just short of it's opponent. The momentum from the charge powered the attack as the zord spun, slamming it's tail into the monster's stomach. Bullzeye was sent flying backwards and away from the city. He picked himself up almost as soon as he had fallen, but the blow left him unsteady on his feet. When the Dragonzord charged forward again, Bullzeye opted to use the null rays rather than attempt a physical attack.

The rays were fired in what seemed like a wild rage. Green Ranger looked for a way to dodge and was surprised to find that the attack had actually been rather well planned. He was trapped by the ray's fire on both sides. It seemed time to employ some strategy of his own. The morphing grid shimmered around him as the null ray's blasts made contact. At the same time he let loose a volley of missiles. The surprise tactic worked. Bullzeye barely knew what hit him when the missiles exploded against his body and sent him crashing backwards into the ocean.

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"What'd I tell ya?" Swindle said. "Right where I said they'd be."

Starscream and the Combaticons were gathered on top of a tall building on the edge of the city, giving them a grand view of the battle taking place on the beach. They had discussed a plan of action at the Combaticon's base. Onslaught had gotten all of the information he could out of Swindle before they set off. As expected, it wasn't much and more than half of it was likely a lie.

"We wouldn't have to battle this thing if you would just tell us who you sold the weapons to." Starscream said angrily.

"I told you, I don't know where they are." Swindle assured the seeker. "I met with their contact, here on Earth. He gave me the energon, I gave them the weapons."

"And you didn't bother to find out who you were selling my null rays to?"

"Course not. That would have been unprofessional." Swindle crossed his arms, reacting as if Starscream had accused him of some great injustice. "I managed to scan Earth's broadcasts and find out where they were for you, didn't I?"

Everyone present knew that Swindle was lying, but what could they do? It wouldn't be worth the energy to try and get the truth out of him. Not when the null rays were right in front of them.

"We should attack." Onslaught observed.

"Why waste our efforts?" Blast-Off asked, his optics on the battle. "Let's have that mechanical lizard defeat the creature for us."

"Because then we wouldn't get to fight anything!" Brawl reasoned. He punctuated his point by slamming his fist into his open palm.

"Because." Onslaught explained, ignoring Brawl. "We don't know what will happen once one of those two claim victory. The null rays may be destroyed, or the victor may teleport away with them."

"Let's do it then." Starscream decided. "Combaticons, combine and attack."

Onslaught hesitated, studying the battle for another moment. Starscream glared at the Combaticon commander when he failed to obey his order.

"What are you waiting for?" Starscream demanded.

"We should attack as we are." Onslaught decided. "We will form Bruticus if needed, but if we can defeat this creature without combining, we will draw much less attention. And we want to avoid attracting attention. Megatron's and the Autobot's."

"I don't care how you do it, just get my weapons back." Starscream said. He leapt into the air and transformed, flying towards the battle.

Onslaught thought, and not for the first time, that Starscream acted much too rashly and wondered how the seeker had obtained his rank.

"If we surround the creature, we might be able to overwhelm it. Starscream will likely rely on his speed for rapid attacks. Blast-Off and Vortex, I want you to fight along side him. The rest of us will attack from the ground."

Blast-Off and Vortex transformed into their vehicle modes and flew off, the rest of the Combaticons following close behind.

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Green Ranger had another volley of missiles loaded and ready to fire the moment Bullzeye attempted to stand. The monster picked itself up almost as soon as it had fallen. Ocean water poured off of his massive form and soaked his fur. He kicked at the ground, his hoof cutting through the water and kicking waves up in it's wake.

Green Ranger was about to shoot the monster back into the sea when he was surprised by the deafening roar of engines as something zipped right by the Dragonzord and headed towards the monster. He watched the thing in the sky for a moment and found himself immensely relieved that he had held his fire when he realized that the object was a jet. The jet was circling around the monster's head, firing on him each time it came around for another pass.

Had the military decided to try and get involved with the Power Rangers' battles? Or was this some kind of lone fighter who thought himself a hero? He decided that either way, it didn't matter. Whoever they were they could not have picked a worse time to get involved. With the jet flying circles around the monster he could not risk fighting without possibly hitting the jet. If the jet got hit by the null rays, the craft would lose power and plummet to the ground.

He tried to open a channel of communication between himself and the fighter jet. He had no idea if he was capable of communicating with something other than a zord, but it was worth a try.

"Attention. This is the Green Power Ranger. You need to clear the area, it's dangerous for you here."

There was a moment of static, then a high pitched voice responded. "Stay out of the way, fleshling. This battle no longer concerns you."

Green Ranger was about to open the channel again, intending to ask who they were and why they were here when another surprise caught him off guard. A helicopter and...what looked to be a small space shuttle arrived. Following closely behind them were three large humanoid looking robots.

The fliers started to attack together. They moved quickly, increasing and decreasing altitude at random, firing at the monster from all sides. The maneuver did it's job well, keeping Bullzeye distracted and unable to find a clear target. The other robots flew into their positions, opting to attack from the ground. One landed himself to the left of the monster and immediately began to fire. Another landed near him, then ran into position behind the monster and began an attack of his own. The last headed for the far right, diving to the side to avoid laser fire. The robot rolled in the sand, landing in a crouch at the water's edge. Then he folded in on himself, transforming into a tank and began an assault of his own. They had effectively boxed Bullzeye in with their attack. The monster spun in place, trying to acquire a target.

Transformers. He was sure of it. If they were Autobot or Decepticon, he couldn't tell. Green Ranger studied their formation for a moment, trying to see if there was a way he could aid with the attack without the risk of hitting one of the robots. There seemed to be no place for him. So, in a rather unexpected turn of events he resigned to his position as a simple spectator.

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On a planet populated primarily by tiny mammals it was a rare occurrence that a Cybertronion felt small in comparison to any living creature on the planet. The mammoth bull like creature was a very large exception. Blast-Off however was confident that intimidating size was the only thing either the creature or the mechanical lizard had to offer. The creature, however large was still flesh and blood and the lizard seemed to be a lifeless vehicle controlled by the human in the green suit. As far as he was concerned that made them both inferior.

So, as the battle progressed Blast-Off was surprised by how much trouble the strange looking creature was giving him. The thing was an expert shot. Blast-Off managed to fly parallel to Vortex for awhile, letting the other Combaticon shield him while he attacked. The strategy was exhausting after a short time and he was forced to abandon it. He was made for space flight, not executing in atmosphere aerial acrobatics. When one of the blasts from the null ray missed his wing by barely an inch Blast-Off finally had enough. He scanned the battlefield a moment before finding an opening in the ground attack between Onslaught and Swindle. He flew toward it, transforming as he dropped to the ground then renewed his attack with his ionic blasters.

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The beast may have been an expert shot, but Starscream was fast. He did his best to make himself an impossible target, zipping around the creature's oddly shaped head at dizzying speeds and firing in rapid bursts as he made a pass. Despite the entire team of Combaticons shooting at him, the creature seemed to decide that Starscream was the greater threat. Or perhaps the monster was simply tired of diving his attention between six opponents and wanted to try picking them off one at a time.

Whatever the thing's reasoning, the end result was the same. Starscream had to redouble his fancy flying after he became the focus of the creature's attacks. He banked hard to the left before being forced to perform a back flip, his underside inches away from being blasted. The monster began a furious attack while Starscream was in mid flip, turning his precise aim at both of the seeker's wings. Thought gave way to instinct as Starscream dodged the attacks. He barrel rolled and made a sharp change of direction, pointing his nose to the ground. Fire from his own null rays rained down around him. He dodged left, circled right and pulled out of the dive quite suddenly before zipping around behind the creature to fire at it's back. Finally the other combatants drew the bull's attention and Starscream was allowed a small reprieve in the attack.

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Vortex may not have been able to match Starscream's flying, but he could still manage some impressive maneuvers of his own. While Starscream attacked from behind, Vortex concentrated fire on the creature's front. He started at it's stomach and flew upwards before transforming in mid air, hovering around the creature's head while he attacked.

It was too late when he noticed the giant hand swing around, not to fire the null rays, but to bat him out of the sky. The strike sent him flying backwards a considerable distance before he crashed to the ground. His body dug a long trench in the sand before finally coming to a rest with his top half submerged in the water.

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'This isn't working.' Onslaught thought to himself. Their opponent would retreat with the null rays long before they had a chance to wear him down. They would have to take the initiative and end the battle quickly.

"This is taking too long. Combaticons, regroup on my position. Starscream, cover our retreat and see if you can't buy us some time."

"I am your superior, Onslaught. Don't presume to order me. Next time you're so bold, there will be consequences."

Starscream's response was exactly as Onslaught had anticipated. An indigent remark to save his pride while seeing the wisdom in his strategy and following the order.

The Combaticons flew away from the battle, dodging null ray fire as they retreated. Starscream circled around the creature's head, concentrating his attacks on his opponent's eyes. Vortex pulled himself from the ocean and hurried to join the others.

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Green Ranger watched in confusion as all but the fighter jet robot retreated. It was still zipping around at incredible speeds, doing it's best to disorient the monster. He tried to find an opening to rejoin the fight, but it would be impossible to try without risk of hitting it... Or should he be thinking of the robot as 'him'? ...or maybe 'her'. He had no idea.

The rest of the robots had regrouped a little ways down the beach. They waited a moment as the helicopter robot caught up with them. Then, they started to do something that made Green Ranger's eyes widen in disbelief. All at once they transformed. First they shifted into their vehicle modes. A missile trailer, a tank, a helicopter, a jeep, and a space shuttle. Then they shifted further. The tank and jeep became giant legs, the helicopter and shuttle became arms, the missile trailer a torso. Energy crackled between them, pulling the parts together. Hands emerged from the ends of the arms and finally a head rose from inside the torso.

'Megazord' was the first thought that ran through Green Ranger's mind. The Transformers had formed a Megazord.

As he shook off his shock a little he realized that perhaps the comparison was not exactly correct. The robotic giant had formed from Transformers, not zords. Still, the end result was incredibly similar. At least in a visual sense. However, it was not the same thing as piloting zords. The Transformers were alive. They submitted their very bodies to form the giant. If somehow his body had to become the arm of another being...what effect might that have on his sense of individuality? Green Ranger found himself pondering the concept with an uneasy fascination.

The giant Transformer looked about, taking in its surroundings. The battle caught it's attention and it took an uncertain step towards the conflict before aparently changing it's mind and staying put. The fighter jet veered away from it's solo attack and transformed before landing on the giant's shoulder.

"Attack!" The jet Transformer shouted, pointing at Bullzeye. "Get my null rays back."

Now the giant moved with purpose. Withdrawing an enormous gun, it advanced on the monster. Bullzeye backed into the surf to distance himself from the robot and aimed all four of his weapons at his new opponent.

When Bullzeye attacked It dove to the side, sand exploded into the air with the impact of each foot fall as the giant ran a half circle around the bull to avoid the laser and null ray fire. Bullzeye chased the titan with his attack trying to, as far as Green Ranger could tell, herd it towards the water. Just shy of joining the monster in the ocean the robot dropped to one knee, letting Bullzeye's attack fly over it's head. It's gun discharged and the blast caught Bullzeye in the side. He stumbled and his attack ceased for a few seconds. The Transformer seized the opportunity it had created. The unrelenting attack the bull had delivered was returned in kind.

Bullzeye was forced back into deeper water, struggling to reestablish his dominance in the fire fight. He uttered a frustrated sounding 'tarnation' and braced himself against the attack. Then he lowered his head and charged. Green Ranger marveled at the monster's resilience. His tough hide held out against the Transformer's weapon just as it had against the Ranger's attacks.

The Transformer continued to fire until the moment of impact. Both warriors fell to the ground with an explosion of sand and sea so great that it momentarily obscured both combatants from view.

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As Bruticus fell Starscream jumped from his shoulder and hovered in the air above the fight, watching the two titans wrestle on the beach. Being one of the early attempts at combiner technology Bruticus possessed an inherent flaw present in all the early gestalts. What he gained in size and strength was lost in intelligence. Without orders to follow the giant solider was worthless. Starscream was more than wiling to give those orders. Bruticus was his instrument of destruction to wield as he pleased.

He observed from the sky as Bruticus' fist connected with the creature's misshapen head. The thing fell back against the sand, momentarily stunned. Starscream had taken note of the creature's recovery powers earlier and doubted it would remain helpless for very long. Bruticus took full advantage of the monster's position, hitting it's prone body again and again. It's left protruding fang cracked under one of the gestalt's strikes and broke under another, flying several feet away. The thing howled in protest, twisting it's body around in an attempt to free itself. As it tried to crawl away Bruticus took hold of it's left arm and stood. The monster was forced to stand along with him. He took hold of the null ray attached to it's left arm and yanked the weapon free.

"NO! NO! That's mine!" The bull yanked his arm back and made a dive for the weapon. Bruticus tossed the null ray aside. It made a large indention in the sand where it fell before shrinking down to normal size.

Enraged, the monster rammed it's head against Bruticus' chest to try and bring the gestalt to the ground again. Without any running momentum to power the charge he only succeeded in forcing Bruticus to stagger back a few steps. Instead of abandoning the tactic like any sensible creature would have done the monster persisted. It braced itself, dug it's hoofed feet into the ground pushed against Bruticus in an attempt to throw the gestalt off balance.

"Get the other one!" Starscream commanded, returning to his perch.

Bruticus put a hand on each of the bull's shoulders and shoved. The bull was forced back with enough room for Bruticus to ram his elbow into the creature's neck. It made a noise that sounded like something between a grunt and a cough as it stumbled backwards. He grasped both of the creature's horns and, with a roar of effort, heaved it up and swung it in a half circle. The monster screamed as Bruticus released it. Gravity finished the job, landing the monster in the sand with a solid thud.

"Don't let him get up!" Starscream screamed.

The order was unnecessary. Bruticus was already advancing on his downed opponent, weapon ready in case the monster tried to stand. When he neared the thing it suddenly sprung up and launched itself forward. Driven by desperation it slammed it's body into Bruticus' midsection. The two warriors found themselves again stumbling through ocean water.

Bruticus punched the monster in the chest and across the jaw. Then he took hold if it's right arm at the shoulder joint and pulled. The bull cried out in protest and tried to bring it's laser gun around. Bruticus knocked it's hand aside and took hold of the creature's horn with his free hand. The bull struggled fiercely but Bruticus would not be deterred. Gripping the creature's horn to anchor himself, he gave another hard yank on it's arm. The bull managed to maneuver his other arm into a position that allowed him to fire on his opponent. The laser seemed to have no more effect than if a human were throwing rocks at him for all the attention he paid it. One final mighty tug and the monster's arm was ripped from it's body, null ray and all. The monster screamed in outrage and pain and tried to charge the combiner again. Bruticus raised his weapon and blasted it several time. Explosions tore along the bull's body that Starscream was fairly certain Bruticus was not responsible for. At last it fell backwards into the sea and there was a final explosion. Steam drifted up from a section of sea momentarily set to boiling and the monster was no more.

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The giant Transformer tore the null ray from Bullzeye's arm then tossed the unwanted appendage into the sea. Free from the influence of Rita's magic the weapon returned to it's normal size. The jet Transformer took the null ray from the giant then flew over to retrieve the second one. The enormous Transformer broke apart into it's five individual components, then they transformed into their robot modes.

Green Ranger watched from a top his Dragonzord as the group conversed among themselves for a few moments then joined their companion. A few words were exchanged between the jet and the combiner group. Then, just like that, it was over. The jet gathered the weapons and flew away and the combiner group took off in another direction.

Slightly bewildered by what had happened Green Ranger decided that the best thing to do would be to see what Zordon had to say about it all. He sent his Dragonzord back to it's resting place before teleporting back to the Command Center.

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"AAAaahhh!"

Rita Repulsa slammed her fist into the arm of her chair and her face twisted into an ugly mask of rage. At their Empress' outburst Squatt and Baboo simultaneously remembered that they had somewhere else they needed to be.

"Empress?" Goldar questioned, despite the fact that he already knew the cause of her anger had to be because they lost the battle.

"That dirty Decepticon double crossed us." Rita said, slumping down in her chair.

"Allow me to go to Earth." Goldar offered. "I'll make him pay for his betrayal."

"I don't have enough energy. And without growing you wouldn't stand a chance against that giant they turn into." She put a hand to her head and let out an exaggerated sigh of agony. "I have a headache."

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There was a brief moment of static as a connection was made between Earth and Cybertron before Soundwave's face filled the view screen.

"What is it Soundwave?" Megatron had already seen the battle between his forces and that strange creature. Soundwave must have something else that he wished to add to the report.

"A strong source of unknown energy was detected during the battle." Soundwave reported in his usual metallic monotone. "Suggest you return to Earth at once."

Soundwave would not be making such a suggestion if he did not think that this was something of great importance. Perhaps Swindle's mistake had inadvertently opened up some new possibilities.

"I'm on my way."

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"This looks like trouble."

"What is it?"

Blaster swiveled his chair around. Prowl was watching the screens over his shoulder. Teletran 1's satellite was transmitting the end of a battle between Bruticus and some strange monster.

"The only thing I know for certain is that those Decepticon dudes are stirin' up some trouble." Blaster reported.

"Do you know what they were after?" At the mention of the enemy Optimus Prime joined his two solider at the view screen.

"Almost looks like...Starscream's null rays." Blaster responded, rewinding the battle so they could watch.

"Strange." Optimus mused.

After their victory the Decepitcons departed. Teletran 1 lingered on the image of a strange robot and what appeared to be a human dressed in green. Not long after the Decepticons left the human did something that sent the giant machine into the ocean. Then the human seemed to vanish into thin air.

"What was that?" Optimus addressed his query to the computer. Teletran 1 scanned it's data banks for a moment before a still image of humans in colored outfits and helmets replaced the video transmission. It's information was procured primarily from the news reports in Angel Grove.

"Power Rangers. Humanoids. Able to control giant machines called 'zords'." Teletran replaced the image of the humans with that of their robots. A reporter who had braved the danger of being out in a monster battle had filmed the zords as they combined. The image was shoddy and obviously shot from far away.

"Prowl, I want you to investigate. Report any further Decepticon activity in the area, and see if you can't find out more about what went on there."

"Right." Prowl turned to Blaster. "What's the location?"

Blaster hit a few keys on the consule. "You're headed for sunny California, Angel Grove."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Megatron had thought that during their years on Earth the Decepticons had explored and exploited (or at least attempted to exploit) every possible source of energy the planet had to offer. Yet, somehow a source of incredible power that flowed around the entire planet and perhaps beyond had managed to elude all of their most sophisticated scanners for years. Had Soundwave not been standing right by someone who had tapped into the power source...and had it been anyone but Soundwave standing there...they would still be ignorant to it's existence.

Megatron had been excited when he first saw Soundwave's readings. He had worked along side his officer for hours, eager to begin draining the new found power. After half a day of fruitless labor his excitement had transformed into frustration. They knew the energy source existed. Soundwave's data allowed them to project a visual representation of the energy field around the planet. But no matter how hard they tried, no matter what they did, they could not access it.

The data was sent to Cybertron for Shockwave to analyze. When Shockwave, with his scientific mind and the best equipment Cybertron had to offer, did no better than they had Megatron was ready to scream with frustration.

"Conclusion: Insufficient data to tap into energy source." Soundwave decided.

"Obviously." Megatron snapped. He glared at the data displayed on the computer screen. It was taunting them. Everything was all right there for them to see. It should have been so simple. Yet nothing they tried could even come close to touching the energy source.

"Well then, let's gather the data we need. Return to where you took those readings and find out how to access the energy grid."

xxxxxxx

Power Rangers. Protectors of the city of Angel Grove. Identities, unknown.

Prowl had spent the day investigating the small town in California. His first stop had been the site of the battle. The beach, he discovered, held few clues. Signs of the battle were still there but they didn't leave him any trail to follow. So he took to the streets, pulled up any information that the human's Internet had to offer, and explored the outskirts of the city.

So far the case seemed pretty simple. He was able to surmise a lot about the situation from Teletran 1's transmission. The strange creature that attacked the city was apparently nothing new. Whoever sent this creature down to Earth had somehow gotten their hands on some null rays which Starscream and the Combaticons had gone to retrieve. If they had been stolen, or given as a gift that Megatron had changed his mind about, or (he strongly suspected) Swindle had made a profit selling the weapons only to have to steal them back later the end result was the same.

Based on the facts it was logical to reason that since the Decepticons had retrieved the null rays they would have no further business in Angel Grove. Prowl made another sweep of the area to be certain. All was peaceful inside the city. He patrolled the beach front and rocky cliffs next. It was there that his scanners finally picked up an unwanted blip. He followed the signal with his optics and enhanced magnification to it's limit. In the distance he could just make out a black and purple metallic bat swooping down into a rocky crevice. It seems that the matter needed further investigation after all.

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Soundwave hit the eject button on his shoulder. His chest compartment swung open while Ratbat transformed into his cassette mode and flew into the open slot. The sun was starting to set just beyond mouth of the cave he had chosen for a temporary base of operations. He had positioned himself just outside the city and sent his cassettes out to gather information.

Buzzsaw and Ravage had returned not too long ago with news from the city itself while Lazerbeak and Ratbat had flown around outside the city to see if there were any signs of these Power Rangers. Ratbat's search had taken him far into the mountains. When he returned several hours later his brothers had already finished their surveys. Soundwave sorted through the data each had gathered and was pleased to find that Ratbat's long journey had actually been very rewarding.

Positioned on a double peaked mountain was a rounded structure with a tube like tower at it's center. It's design seemed to be foreign to Earth. Soundwave contacted Megatron to report the discovery.

"You found something?" Megatron asked.

"Affirmative." Soundwave reported. "A building deep within the mountains of alien design." He sent the visual and the coordinates of the building. There was a moment of silence before Megatron responded, sounding intrigued.

"The building doesn't appear on visual when I enter the coordinates. Something is blocking it from the satellites. Continue your investigation. I want the source of that power."

"As you command."

Soundwave ended the communication and ejected Lazerbeak before transforming into his tape deck alt mode.

Lazerbeak swooped down to grasp the tape deck's handle in his metallic claws before flying out of the cave, heading towards the distant mountain peaks.

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"He's on the move."

Prowl reported as he watched Lazerbeak depart the cave with Soundwave in tow. Even with the message being relayed over a special secure frequency he was concerned it might have been detected. He would have preferred to maintain radio silence, but this unexpected development could not go unreported. Soundwave relocating himself in such a hurry could only mean that he had found something.

"Heading towards the mountains."

The pair were a rapidly disappearing speck in the distance when he received Optimus Prime's reply a few seconds later.

"I'm sending backup. Tracks and Sunstreaker are returning from a mission near your position. I'll have Tracks find Soundwave from the air and Sunstreaker will report from the city."

"Acknowledged." Prowl responded.

Optimus had given him no direct orders, which meant that his leader trusted him to proceed as he saw fit. After his through search of the town he was satisfied that there was no need for him there. Miles of rocky terrain separated him from Soundwave. It was too rough to drive over. So his only option was to set off on foot.

Xxxx

"You want us to WHAT!"

"You WILL hold your position and await further orders." When Megatron spoke in such a tone his troops knew that there was no room for argument. It was a tone that inspired fear and commanded respect.

"We got better things to do!" Of course, such things mattered little to the Stunticons. Motormaster made a grand display of his disrespect, slamming his large fist into a nearby boulder.

"You dare question my orders?" Commander and solider glared at each other over the view screen. The showdown lasted no more than thirty seconds. Thirty seconds longer than most Decepticons would have dared such brazen behavior.

"Fine…we'll wait…but not for long." Motormaster grumbled.

"You will wait until I tell you otherwise." Megatron growled before ending the transmission.

A few minutes passed where Megatron was allowed to study Soundwave's findings uninterrupted. A simple report from Shockwave concerning Starscream's unusual behavior while he unloaded his equipment coupled with Shockwave's suspicions regarding the matter had quite unexpectedly sent Megatron on a search for what might be one of the most powerful energy sources he had ever come across. The puzzle's newest piece was the alien structure isolated in the California mountains. It seemed inconceivable that such a thing had escaped the notice of the Decepticons for so long.

"You summoned me?"

His train of thought was broken by Starscream's voice. He spared his subordinate a glance over his shoulder and motioned him forward.

"Do these energy readings mean anything to you, Starscream?"

He took a step back to allow the Air Commander access to the display on the screen. An arrogant expression crossed Starscream's face as he started towards the computer, eager to prove he had an answer where his leader did not.

"Too complicated for you, all mighty Megatron?" He sneered as he scanned the display. Despite Starscream's attitude, Megatron's expression remained impassive. As he studied the data his smugness was traded for genuine interest in the strange information. "Almost seems to be…"

"You wished to see us, Megatron?"

Megatron could not help but allow himself a superior smile as his newest arrivals announced themselves. Starscream turned away from the computer and a look of horrified realization stole over his features. The Combaticons reached the same conclusion as Starscream. There could be only one reason Megatron had summoned them all here together. The matter of the null rays was no longer a secrete.

Onslaught crossed his arms and kept quiet. He decided to face the seemingly dire situation with dignity. The rest of his team followed his example.

"Megatron, you don't understand! It wasn't my fault!" Starscream however, broke immediately into desperate pleas. "Swindle's the one to blame. I was a victim in all this!"

"Silence." Megatron snapped. Starscream immediately complied, although it seemed that he was going to begin a tirade of pleas and excuses at any moment.

"I didn't…" Swindle's attempt at an invented explanation was cut short as Blast-Off elbowed him in the side.

"I will discuss your punishment later." Megatron said decisively. "Until then, we have important matters to attend to. Fortunately, Soundwave was able to turn your idiocy to our advantage."

He glared at his troops in silence for a moment as if daring them to say something. No one in the room was so bold.

"The humans you encountered have access to a powerful energy source. An energy source that will soon belong to the Decepticons. As soon as we hear from Soundwave, we attack."

Xxxx

On the battlefield one gets a chance to learn about people on a very raw and intimate level. You get to see what a person is truly made of. The extent of their courage under fire, the very soul of a person laid bare; stripped down to the very simple instinct of kill or be killed. The same holds true for robots. During their years of combat the Autobots had all gotten to know each other through struggle and strife, trusting each other with their very lives.

Of course knowing someone in private life was quite a different matter. Normally one that does not receive much thought. After all the number of Autobots on Earth was considerably small, so at some point and time most had gotten a chance to socialize with one another.

Tracks and Sunstreaker had been sent out on a two day mission together. Neither had really spent much time with the other outside of the battlefield. Now two days had passed where each had only the other for company. They drove expediently and silently towards Angel Grove, their destination coming clear as they neared. Their speed was urged by the knowledge that Decepticons plagued the small town. Their silence because neither wanted to talk to the other…possibly ever again.

Tracks thought Sunstreaker to be vain, childish, egotistical and insufferable. Sunstreaker found Tracks to be vain, arrogant, egotistical and generally just bad company. Of course both Autobots were correct and being of such like mind it was inevitable that the two would not get along.

The silence held until they were but a few miles to the city. Tracks suddenly increased his speed, pulling ahead of his companion. The air from his passing stirred dirt on the road to life. The dirt flew left, right into Sunstreaker's side. Tension had been mounting between the two for days now and this slight transgression was enough to set Sunstreaker into a rage. He matched Tracks' speed and pulled up beside him.

"What's the big idea!"

"I'm simply trying to hasten our arrival. We're almost there." Tracks forced a calm reply, thinking himself the mature one in the situation.

"You ruined my left side." Sunstreaker accused.

"Personally I think that you need to dull down that tacky bright paintjob of yours anyway."

"Tacky! You don't know the first thing about style. It's obvious just by looking at you!"

"My form and color scheme are both far superior to yours."

"Don't even start about your form. With those ridiculous wings of yours you look more suited to polish Starscream's armor as one of his seekers than be an Autobot."

With that remark Tracks decided that it was time to abandon civility with the intolerable little Lamborghini. He increased speed, again pulling ahead of Sunstreaker before extending his wings and taking off right in front of the other car.

As he took flight a massive cloud of dust rose from the street and covered Sunstreaker's entire front half.

"I'm going to start my mission." Tracks announced haughtily. "Be sure you report your arrival to Prowl."

With that he took off, flying towards the mountains.

xxxx

"I have arrived at the coordinates. Awaiting further instructions." Soundwave informed.

"Excellent." Megatron praised. "Hold your position for now. I'm going to provide a diversion that should get the attention of those human heroes as well as any Autobots that may try to interfere."

"Acknowledged."

After Soundwave signed off Megatron contacted his diversion. The Stunticons had been stationed only a few miles from Angel Grove. Now he indented to set them to the task they were best suited.

"Stunticons, acknowledge."

"Yeah, we're here." Motormaster answered.

"Good." He had been silently concerned that the Stunticons gotten bored and decided to leave their post in search of amusement. "Your orders are to attack the city."

"Yeah?" Motormaster sounded pleased. "You'n count on us!"

The communication ended and Megatron turned to address the rest of his gathered troops.

"Now we attack. If we succeed I might consider this one step towards redemption from your latest crime."

Xxxx

Tracks flew, leaving the road miles below him. High enough to stay out of sight from anyone happening to drive by but low enough to keep a slightly magnified eye on the ground for trouble. He had contacted Prowl as soon as his companion had been left in the dust and was now in route to his position.

They had been given the simple task of picking up equipment and delivering it to the half constructed site of the Autobot's new base of operations on Earth. Sunstreaker had proven to be an insufferable companion. Even now with the pest miles below and behind him Tracks could not stop the angry thoughts from circulating around his central processor.

So preoccupied was he that when he first spotted four cars and a semi truck speeding dangerously along the highway towards the city he paid it little mind. Fortunately it only took a few moment for him to realize his mistake before he began to contact the others. First Sunstreaker, Prowl and finally Optimus Prime.

The Stunticons were coming.

Xxxx

When Optimus Prime received Tracks' information he realized that whatever was going on in Angel Grove was much bigger than he had initially thought. The prospect of a full scale attack was on his hands and he felt ill prepared. With the core of Megatron's operation moved back to Cybertron the Autobots had been living a peaceful existence alongside the humans. Prime had done his best to ensure his troops were always ready for battle. Unfortunately with the Decepticon's constant threat of attack eliminated a sense of security and complacency was inevitable. The situation also made the Autobot leader feel strongly the absence of many of his valued troops. Ironhide, Bumblebee, and the Protectobots along with many others had been given the task of setting up a new base of operations on Cybertron's moon.

At least they were not at a disadvantage as far as numbers were concerned. Although many had been drafted to secure the moon base, their latest mission to Cybertron had recovered many warriors that Prime had believed lost long ago. Ultra Magnus, Springer, Kup, Hot Rod and Arcee were now added to the ranks of the Earth based Autobot forces. Springer, Kup and Arcee had been stationed at Metroplex, the half finished base of operations they were constructing with a personality component recovered from a similar structure on Cybertron.

Those who remained in the Ark were among the Autobots assembled to deal with the latest threat. Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, the and the Aerialbots stood before him. The Dinobots had also been contacted although Prime was dismayed when he found out that they were too far away to offer immediate assistance.

"Autobots, the Stunticons have been spotted heading towards a city in California. I'm not sure what Megatron's planning there. But I do know that I have no intention of letting him succeed. Now, Transform and Roll out!"


End file.
